This Sceptred Isle: The Dynasties Volume 2

Anna Massey tells the story of some of the ambitious families who helped shape the history of the British Isles and have wielded power behind the scenes for the past 1000 years. The Dynasties relates how the loyalties of this privileged elite, many of whom are older than the monarchy itself, were tested and rewarded: it also uncovers a multitude of murderous plots, bloody battles, adulteries, intrigues and shocking executions.

The Dynasties, Volume 1: This Sceptred Isle

Anna Massey tells the story of some of the ambitious families who helped shape the history of the British Isles and have wielded power behind the scenes for the past 1000 years. The Dynasties relates how the loyalties of this privileged elite, many of whom are older than the monarchy itself, were tested and rewarded: it also uncovers a multitude of murderous plots, bloody battles, adulteries, intrigues and shocking executions. In this first volume, three powerful houses are examined.

This Sceptred Isle: The Dynasties Volume 4

Anna Massey tells the story of some of the ambitious families who helped shape the history of the British Isles and have wielded power behind the scenes for the past 1000 years. The Dynasties relates how the loyalties of this privileged elite, many of whom are older than the monarchy itself, were tested and rewarded: it also uncovers a multitude of murderous plots, bloody battles, adulteries, intrigues and shocking executions.

This Sceptred Isle: The Twentieth Century 1919-1939

Volume 2, covering the years 1919-1939, looks at a Britain ravaged by war and at the mercy of millions of striking workers. It also takes in the lighter side of life in the 1920s and 30s, including the first loaf of bread going on sale and the glory days of Fred Perry.

This Sceptred Isle: The Twentieth Century 1979-1999

Volume 5, covering the years 1979-1999, looks at the Thatcher years, the Falklands War and the greatest ever Royal Wedding. Beyond Britain Gorbachev was influencing world affairs and, back in the nation's capital, a dome was being built to celebrate the approaching millennium.

This Sceptred Isle Vol 4: Elizabeth I to Cromwell 1547-1660

Christopher Lee's history of Britain provides the definitive radio account of the events and personalities that have shaped our nation. From foreign invasions and war to economic crises and social revolution, this is a compelling journey through centuries of dramatic change. Volume 4, covering the years 1547 to 1660, describes some momentous events: the long reign of Elizabeth I; the personal union of England and Scotland under her successor, James VI and I; and, of course, the Civil War.

This Sceptred Isle: Empire, Volume 2: 1783-1876

This is Volume 2 of the eagerly-awaited follow-up to Christopher Lee's highly-acclaimed and award-winning BBC Radio 4 series. BBC Radio 4's monumental history of Britain picks up the story of the British Empire at the point where the American colonies have become the United States of America with their triumph over General Cornwallis and the British army at Yorktown in 1781. These are the years when British influence grew steadily around the globe.

This Sceptred Isle: Empire, Volume 1: 1155-1783

Britain had the biggest empire the world has ever known. At one time a quarter of the global land mass was British. Over a third of the world was insured at Lloyds. At his coronation, more than 400 million people saluted George V. Truly, the sun never set on this historical phenomenon. Whatever the day, whatever the hour, somewhere on the globe, the empire worked and played the British game, often absurdly so.

This Sceptred Isle: The Twentieth Century, Volume 1, 1901-1919

Continuing the award-winning BBC Radio 4 series of the story of Britain, from the start of the twentieth century to the present day. Christopher Lee's history of Britain, This Sceptred Isle, provided the definitive radio account of the nation form the arrival of Julius Caesar to the death of Queen Victoria.

This Sceptred Isle Vol 6: The First British Empire 1702-1760

Christopher Lee's history of Britain provides the definitive radio account of the events and personalities that have shaped our nation. Volume 6, covering the years 1702 to 1760, looks at several firsts: the reign of the first Hanoverian king, George I; the man known as Britain's first prime minister, Robert Walpole; the first renditions of 'Rule Britannia' and 'God Save the King'; and, importantly, the first appearance of gin!

This Sceptred Isle Vol 5: Restoration & Glorious Revolution 1660-1702

Christopher Lee's history of Britain provides the definitive radio account of the events and personalities that have shaped our nation. Volume 5, covering the years 1660 to 1702, is about great change: the restoration of the monarchy, the Great Plague, the Great Fire in the nation's capital, and, following the immense unpopularity of James II's Catholicism, a ruler from a different country on the throne, William of Orange.

This Sceptred Isle, Volume 2: 1087-1327 The Making of the Nation

Volume 2 covers the years 1087 to 1327, a time of wars between the English and the Scots, of Crusades and of civil war. Yet in amongst the fighting lay the foundations of the modern state: the Magna Carta and the calling of the first parliament.

This Sceptred Isle, Volume 1: 55 BC-1087 Julius Caesar to William the Conqueror

Volume 1, covering the years 55BC to 1087, tells the beginning of the story: 400 years of peace for the island of Britannia under the Romans before a plunge into the Dark Ages and the invasion of those who would become the English: Angles, Saxons, Danes and Norwegians.

This Sceptred Isle Vol 10: The Age of Victoria 1837-1901

Volume 10 covers the years 1837 to 1901: the Victorian Age. The Queen's 64-year reign oversaw huge social changes, wrought by Palmerston, Gladstone, and Disraeli; Dickens, Trollope, Robert Louis Stevenson, Gilbert and Sullivan; the first bicycle and the first electric light bulb.

This Sceptred Isle Vol 9: Regency & Reform 1815-1837

Christopher Lee's history of Britain provides the definitive radio account of the events and personalities that have shaped our nation. Volume 9, covering the years 1815 till 1837, describes a period of prosperity, wit, and elegance, as well as scandal, change, and social ferment. The Duke of Wellington became prime minister, Sir Robert Peel began the Metropolitan Police, and slavery was abolished in the British Empire.

This Sceptred Isle: The Twentieth Century 1939-1959

Volume 3, covering the years 1939-1959, takes a global perspective. Following the horrors of the Second World War, which culminated with the horrific bombing of Hiroshima and the onset of the Cold War, came the beginnings of popular culture: Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and the Mini.

This Sceptred Isle: The Twentieth Century, Volume 2, 1919-1939

Volume 2, covering the years 1919-1939, looks at a Britain ravaged by war and at the mercy of millions of striking workers. It also takes in the lighter side of life in the 1920s and 30s, including the first loaf of bread going on sale and the glory days of Fred Perry.

Charles Of New York says:"A Spectuacular Series, Brilliantly Portrayed"

This Sceptred Isle Vol 8: Nelson, Wellington, & Napoleon 1792-1815

Christopher Lee's history of Britain provides the definitive radio account of the events and personalities that have shaped our nation. From foreign invasions and war to economic crises and social revolution, this is a compelling journey through centuries of dramatic change.Volume 8 covers the years 1792 to 1815, a time of war all over Europe, which created national heroes out of Nelson and Wellington as they battled against Napoleon.

This Sceptred Isle Vol 7: The Age of Revolutions 1760-1792

Christopher Lee's history of Britain provides the definitive radio account of the events and personalities that have shaped our nation. Volume 7, covering the years 1760 to 1792, describes the impact of developments in the world outside Britain: revolution in America created a new nation and, in France, changed the face of Europe. At home, George III battles to establish the constitutional monarchy we know today.

This Sceptred Isle: The Twentieth Century, Volume 4, 1959-1979

Volume 4, covering the years 1959-1979, includes the erection of the Berlin Wall, putting the first man on the moon, the Vietnam War, and the astonishing success of a young man called Cassius Clay. Closer to home, the Beatles generated worldwide hysteria and Profumo caused a scandal.

The Foundations of Western Civilization

What is Western Civilization? According to Professor Noble, it is "much more than human and political geography," encompassing myriad forms of political and institutional structures - from monarchies to participatory republics - and its own traditions of political discourse. It involves choices about who gets to participate in any given society and the ways in which societies have resolved the tension between individual self-interest and the common good.

The Silk Roads: A New History of the World

It was on the Silk Roads that East and West first encountered each other through trade and conquest, leading to the spread of ideas, cultures, and religions, and it was the appetites for foreign goods that drove economies and the growth of nations. From the first cities in Mesopotamia to the emergence of Greece and Rome to the depredations by the Mongols, the transmission of the Black Death, the struggles of the Great Game, and the fall of Communism - the fate of the West has always been inextricably linked to the East.

I, Claudius (Dramatised)

A full-cast dramatisation of Robert Graves' brilliant account of the madness and debauchery of ancient Rome, starring Tom Goodman Hill as Claudius and Derek Jacobi as Augustus. The wickedly entertaining inside story of the lives and deaths of the Imperial dynasty from Augustus to Caligula is told by their obscure relation, Claudius. In public, Claudius is a stammering, drooling weakling, whose reputation as an idiot keeps him safe from office and assassination.

Publisher's Summary

Anna Massey tells the story of some of the ambitious families who helped shape the history of the British Isles and have wielded power behind the scenes for the past 1000 years. The Dynasties relates how the loyalties of this privileged elite, many of whom are older than the monarchy itself, were tested and rewarded: it also uncovers a multitude of murderous plots, bloody battles, adulteries, intrigues and shocking executions.

Of the families examined in this third volume, the Churchill’s are irrevocably connected with Sir Winston, yet before him came Lord Randolph and the first Duke of Marlborough. The Cecil’s came to power among the Tudors of the 16th century and continue to influence English public life right up to the present day, whilst the Dalrymples produced some of the most famous legal minds and politicians in Scotland.